


Angels

by apostapal



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-18 06:32:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9372410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/apostapal/pseuds/apostapal
Summary: Across the bridge Garrus spots a ghost. A vision of death, coming to take him, wearing Shepard's face. And, for whatever reason, he's not afraid anymore.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Just some personal HCing about how Garrus must have felt staring at Shepard when he was fairly resolved he was about to die in Omega.

He knows enough about human cultural views of death from personal research. After Shepard died, Garrus thought a lot about customs and spirituality regarding it. Using turian customs didn't seem fitting so he looked into other alternatives. It brought him a few ideas on how to honor her, yes, but it also taught him a lot more about humans than he was expecting.

He knows what to call the human woman across the bridge from his sniper's nest the second he spots her in his scope. She moves just like Shepard did, looks like she did, but she's not.

She's a reaper. An angel of death. Her eyes go straight for his and it's like she's staring through him. For a second he freezes; then a bullet hits the wall inches from his head and he ducks back down again.

She's back from the grave to take him. He knows it. His gut churns but he has a startling realization that it is from _excitement_ and not _fear_. He did so hope he'd be able to see her again before the end of all this, impossible or not.

Shepard's coming for him, picking off mercs as she moves across the bridge, and Garrus is willing to welcome her. It would be a _good death_ , he thinks.

She pauses on the bridge, looking up at him again—she knows who he is, has to—and Garrus' finger twitches involuntarily. The bullet bounces off her shield and she waves a hand at him and suddenly he's struck by the idea she could be _real_. It's almost scarier than the idea of the angel of death.

Still, he'll take what he can get.

By the time he hears her coming up the stairs he's fairly certain she's real. Or, perhaps, he's so far into the hallucination he can't even comprehend it. Either way he's busy when she comes through the doorway.

“Archangel?”

He holds up a finger, inhales, and fires. He hadn't seen that one coming. She had to know who he was if she was a reaper, right?

(Not a Reaper reaper. But, then again, did they know who he was too?)

He pulls his helmet off and her eyes light up. Like she's seen a damn miracle. The Cerberus uniforms behind her tell him that he might be the friendliest face she's seen in days.

“Shepard. I thought you were dead.”

_You are dead. You're death coming to take me, right?_

“Garrus!” she blurts, articulate as he remembers, “What are you doing here?”

She had no idea—still has no idea. She's real. She's even more unbelievable than the angel of death. Garrus laughs, shrugs it off, but deep down he's trying to process everything.

_Well, what next?_

Shepard steps forward, offers him a hand, and he takes it and pulls himself up. She's still smiling and even in the face of having accepted his death mere moments earlier he feels so alive now.

_Live._

If Shepard can be a miracle the least he can do is stay alive to be at her side again, right?


End file.
